Cord-severing parcel release



J1me 1954 LE ROY s. JESSEN 2,679,689

CORD-SEVERING PARCEL RELEASE Filed April 24, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet I 1 i1 I I J IN V EN TOR. LEROY 5. JEJSE BY 1 I 500 June 1, 1954 LE ROY s. JESSEN 2,679,689

CORD-SEVERING PARCEL RELEASE Filed April 24, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. LC'EO) 5.J55 /V 3 i ,O K

Patented June 1, 1954 CORD-SEVERING PARCEL RELEASE Le Roy S. Jessen, Dayton, Ohio, assignor to the United States of Americ Secretary of the Air F a as represented by the roe Application April 24, 1952, Serial No'. 284,192

(Granted under Title 35, U. S. Code (1952),

see. 266) 6 Claims.

The invention described in the foregoing specification and claims may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes without the payment to me of any royality thereon.

This invention relates to a cord-severing parcel release which is adapted particularly for use with airplanes, but also has general application. For airplane use, it is adapted for the release of tow targets and for the distribution of propaganda and leaflets from packages. Briefly stated, it is a hook adapted for cord accommodation and cutting upon the application of stress.

Among the objects of the invention are the provision of a release which will sever the cords of the package when the latter has been dumped from an airplane at the end of a static line.

One object of the invention is the provision of a release of this nature which is light, small and capable of repeated use.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a release which requires little maintenance, is cheap to manufacture and'can be attached to the parcel in a minimum of time and if need be, under poor conditions of illumination.

It is well known that a normal knife edge will not necessarily sever a cord unless the sharp edge is moved transversely with respect to the cord. This is made apparent whenever an ordinary house knife is used to attempt to sever a cord. Therefore, a still further object of this invention is to provide a cutter for severing the cord on parcels when released from aircraft, which cutter has a wedged-shaped opening with opposing cutting edges so that upon the tow cord becoming taut the cord about the parcel will work its way toward the bottom of the opening thereby wedging itself into the cutting edges so that a scissors-like action is created thereon. In this manner the cutting edges are moved transversely of the cord sothat it may be more readily severed. 6

Referring now to the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the preferredform of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the form shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a simplified form shown in front elevation.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the form shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of an airplane in the act of dumping parcels with the aid of the present invention. The latter is shown in exaggerated size relative to the other components of the figure.

Referring now to Figs. 1 and 2, I0 indicates a static line which is attached to the vehicle from which the parcel is to be thrown. H indicates generally the cable on the parcel release which is the preferred form of the invention. The release comprises a fiat piece of sheet metal, preferably of tempered steel similar to the sheet spring steel used in binder clips such as are sold in stationery stores. This steel is both thin and strong and is capable of being sharpened to a more or less permanent cutting edge. The form in which the release is made, bears a hook, either 12 or l3, upon each end, the bight I4 or l5 respectively of each has the form of an acute angle, and the sides It and I! respectively of each are of substantial length on their interior edges, both of which are sharpened to a knife edge. The bight I5 is preferably made deeper than the bight It so that a single cutting edge will initially be presented toward the cord I8 (see Fig. 5) to be out, rather than both of them, It and IT at the same time. The tips I9 and respectively of the hooks l2 and 13 are rounded and their edges are not sharp, so that the operators hands will not be endangered during manipulation.

The middle part of the blank is narrower in width than the ends and as may be seen from Fig. 2 and is folded over to form a round channel 2| through which the static line [0 is strung. The ends 22 and 23 of the channel 2| are flared at the ends to prevent cutting of the static line it when the latter tightens under load. The channel is provided with a pair of shoulders 23 and 24 which may be clearly seen in Fig. 2. At this point the hooks I2 and I3 are folded over each other so that they lie together like the blades of a pair of scissors, thus promoting a shearing action of the sharpened edges l6 and H. The point 25 at which the cutting edges meet is a relative one, depending upon the amount of dehiscence or spreading between the hooks I2 and I3. At the lower end of these hooks, their oval ends 26 and 21 are spread as shown in Fig. 2 to form a throat 28 into which the cord it of the parcel 29 may be introduced. This is most conveniently done by pushing the release H against the cord while the latter is taut, so that it may spread the hooks apart progressively from the throat 28 upward.

Referring now to Figs. 3 and 4, the modification shown therein is simplier than the form shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and for certain kinds of work may be just as efficient. It is made from an unfolded blank which has the snowshoe-like 5 shape shown. In it the place for the attachment of the static line in is an opening 30 surrounded by a grommet 3|, the opening being in the widest part or top 32 of the device. While the shape shown is preferred, its outer configuration may be varied considerably. In its lower part, that form of the invention shown in Fig. 3 has a diamond shaped opening 33, the lower edges 34 and 35 of which are sharpened and come together at Referring now to Fig. 5, 40 is an airplane,.

which bears a plate 4| or other point of attachment for the static line 10, the ends of which are. each provided with a release I I such as has beendescribed in either form thereof. The parcel, which in this case is assumed tobe packed with propaganda, leaflets 42, has its; wrapping cords I8..passing through the openings 33. of ,the releases so that the cords are in contact'with the cutting edges. The. packages 29 are otherwise unsealed. Upon dumping the packages from the airplane, the cuttingzedgesqlfi and I! or 34 and 35 exert their action upon the cords [8 as soon as the static. line becomes tautfrom .the weight of the package 29. severing takesplace. and in'the form of the invention shown in Fig. 1, the cord is first cut at theangle l4 and later, if necessary, at the angle or throat.l5. The release may be temporarily deformed suflicientlyby the pull of the package 29 so that. both of these angles or throatseventually take part :in the severing action. In the form shown .inFig. 3, the cutting takes placeonly at the angle or throat 36.

If tow .targets are the ,objectsto be launched from the airplane, it isdesired that the packaged tow target be launched from the towing airplane and that it'should pullits tow cable or rope from a pack orcontainer until. fully extended before the target is released from its bindings. Should the target become released from itsibindings-prematurely, it may become entangledin its towing lines.

It is believedthat thesubject OfrthiS invention may be. of use for. the deliverybf air freight This might be accomplishedby overwrapping a parachute attached to-..the. parcel to be dropped. In this instance, the overwrapped parcel would be launched and whenclearedof .the. airplane, my release wouldfree the binding andwrapping containing the parcel with the parachute attached. By this means, conventional packs might be eliminated.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a cord-severing parcel release, a frame having therein an opening for the attachment of a static line, means for preventing the cutting 0f the static line at said opening, said frame having a second opening the sides of which are of substantial length, said sides having sharpened edges and running to an acute angle toward the lower end of the frame, a cord extending through said second opening, said cord being capable of wedging itself toward an apex of the acute angle so that the sides thereof will sever the cord.

2. A cord-severing parcel release adapted for use with aircraft which comprises a sheet metal fram havingan opening therein for the retention of a staticline, asecond opening which is larger than the first and positioned lower, said second opening running to a point at an acute angle at the bottom of the opening, and sharpened-edges onthose sides of said opening adjacent the said point, a cord extending through said second opening, said cord being capable of wedging itself towardan apex of the acute angle so that the sides thereof will sever the cord.

3. A cordsevering parcel release adapted to beconnected to cord-tied parcels from a vehicle, said release comprising a folded blank of sheet metal, each end of said blank being formed into a hook each hook being oppositely disposed from the other, the inner edge of each hook being straight and sharp; the edges running together to a point at an acute angle, said hooks being folded into scissors relation-of their sharp edges with each other.

4. A parcel release according to claim 3 in which the point to which the sides run together in one hook is substantially lower on the blank than the corresponding point in the-other hook.

5. A cord-severingparachute release comprising a sheet-metal stamping ,of generally snowshoeshape having in its larger end an opening for the reception of a static line, a grommet of soft material disposedin said opening to protect the static line from being cut, and toward the opposite end, said stampinghaving an elongated diamond-shaped:opening, two of the sides of said openingv beingsharp and running to a point near the narrower end of said stamping at an acute angle.

6 A cord-severing parachute release which comprises a sheet of spring tempered steel, said sheet bearin .a hook at each end, said hooks being oppositely facing and each having an acuteangled bight, the inner edges of 83011001 said .bights being sharp, .one of said bights being deeper than the other, said sheet being folded upon itself so that the outer hook edges substantially coincide and-the sharpened edges of said hooks lie together in-scissors blade relation about an opening, the degree of folding at the top of the release being such as to form a semicircular channel of substantially round section with flared edgesfor the accommodation of a loop of line, and at the bottom a'fiared'pair of edges to facilitate the introductionof taut cordage acrossthe opening formed by the contacting sharp edges of th hooks.

References Cited in the file Of this patent,

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,891,635 Deubel Dec. 20, 1932 1,925,555 Bradshaw Sept. 5, 1933 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 644,883 France June 19, 1928 

